Turbulent wind and maelstrom were scattered across the southeast wasteland on Area 101. There might be an important event and a catastrophic encounter made by the Faranor Citadel within the Tavaroth Continent, but within Domeniul Ceresc, everything only bloomed with joy.
One of the formerly optimistic groups of Mandragoras called the Pine-Looters, were going back to their secret base while towing a wagon filled with a pitiful dragon-like kappa.
"Uuuh, this thing turns out to be an uncookable material." One of the Pine-Looters sighed, still maintaining her nonchalant smile. "I thought we were able to win with our ultimate spice combination."
"Life is like that," the other Pine-Looters shrugged one-handed. "When there is a way, there ought to be an abrupt thing blocking the path. Either that, or there isn't a path in our frame to begin with~"
"As expected of Chuyan, always spreading incomprehensible bull-feces from time to time~" laughed the third Pine-Looters as they continued to tow the kappa-filled wagon.
The three Mandragoras of mischief, the Pine-Looters. Unlike other Mandragoras who were born from a naturally spawned excess of energy on the ground, they popped out into existence from literal pines! The three of them were always seen together, no matter where they went.
Although the three of them were technically born at the same time, they do have their own family hierarchy that started from who was the smartest as the eldest, and the dumbest as the youngest.
With a sassy mouth and eternal smugness, the smartass of the century was spewed into Neamh from mother nature. Featuring Chuyan, the leader and the eldest member of the Pine-Looters.
And then as the middle child, came an extremely laid back Mandragora by the name of Cassilk. Her name was chosen because her sneeze sounded funny and it was just that she happened to get something on her nose during their naming session. Not the brightest, not the darkest. But she was definitely one of the most loyal Mandragora ever existed within Domeniul Ceresc.
Then came the youngest child, aka the dumbest, aka the most annoying out of the bunch.
Her name was Cola, the most devious and prudent prick out of the bunch.
They hummed a sing-a-song together as they towed their wagon on the way to their base, they stumbled upon a rare scenery that seemed like a biblical experience for the forest dweller. The three of them stopped towing the pitiful kappa and began to indulge their curiosity. Of course, they mostly wanted a story material that they could brag about to the other Mandragoras.
Within the small area filled with trees, flowers, and a small decorated pond, could be seen the beautiful goddess of the land. Beautiful black hair that flew by the windy nature, the calm and gentle face, plus the two sets of mountains—mature assets of that of a perfect mother figure. Unlike the usual depiction of her having a twintail that represents the duality of life and death, this time, she let loose of her hair.
Sitting on a lying tree that was chopped to create more area for the forest dwellers to roam, the graceful Ouroboros caressed the hair of the green-haired tanomobi on her lap. The Pine-Looters were graced by the energy wavelength of their goddess while also being fed by a heartwarming view of that of a fairy tale.
The colorful spectacle of the runic halo made the scenery even more biblical.
Although the Ouroboros herself always actively socialized with her followers, most of the time, only the first couple of generations of dwellers could get the privilege of directly serving under her command. Just like the Mandragoras in the group circle that Senior Tako was in.
Those screaming plant spirits seemed to be a little unrespectful and having a static expression most of the time, especially in the vicinity of their lord. Though, they were actually grateful and were praying within their heart when meeting with the Ouroboros.
Although most of the time, they were grateful because they felt special and wanted to brag about it to the other Mandragoras. Regardless, they were still as faithful, but never exceeding those of a friendly and casual demeanor, even to their goddess, lord, or whatever deity and ancient beast they were serving.
Foel and MF had already noticed it but they didn't care as much. Not to mention, Damascus was nearby, acting like a helpful bodyguard who could take the hint.
"It's been a while since I saw you untie your twintail." Foel closed her eyes, letting MF caressing her big rodent ears and hair. "You look more mature when you do so."
"Fufufu, letting it free to be felt by the wind is nice sometimes." The Ouroboros planted her chin in-between the rodent ears, snuggling rather comfortably as her sanity-o-meter rose up. "How is your experience on handling the Citadel? If it's too harsh, I can send or create more helpers to aid you."
"Hmmm~ The Citadel Caretaker—I mean the Forest Caretaker has been really helpful with everything related to the administration. Abe is also on surveillance mode 24 hours.
"Everything has been going good so far. Estimatedly, it might only take two months for the Citadel to be fully established. That way, we could register our civilization to the Association and move our way from there."
"Indeed," MF giggled. "As much as I wanted for our Citadel to stay independent, I still prefer political domination and intimidation. The Association still has numerous great warriors after all." MF then raised her forefinger, still maintaining her blissful expression. "Though, I prefer the word 'settling a beneficial contract' rather than 'registering' with the union.
"I really don't like how the High Mages did nothing significant for Neamh as a whole. We might want to weed out some incompetent bastard there before claiming the whole association."
"Seems like you're fully prepared, Meshia." Foel opened one of her eyes. "Oh right, there is something I want to notify you about."
"Hmm? Blast away~"
"Have you been notified of the third patrol team volunteers that was made up of dryads?"
"I heard that Asir mentioned something about it."
"Somehow, they managed to get themselves exploring the southeast region, far away from both Ouranos Citadel and Domeniul Ceresc."
"... They what?"
"I've already given them a pack of Cannon Yelpers for their mount and also as an eye for me to keep track of them." Foel amusedly smiled. "Back then, they happened to be exploring the north area and came back to Domeniul Ceresc with a bunch of looted artifacts and treasures that they uncovered.
"They seemed to be an adventurer by heart and they were capable enough to survive and avoid danger. But this time, they went overboard and didn't realize that they were hundreds of kilometers away from Domeniul Ceresc."
"That is interesting." MF started to caress her chin as she started to grin. "I might talk one thing or two with Asir on how we manage the military forces of Domeniul Ceresc. Though, you wouldn't really mention this if it doesn't have something significant to what you wanted to say."
"It's actually two hours ago, but it seems like they stumbled upon a huge regiment of flying armored soldiers and PMCs from the southeast, deftly heading to the southwest."
"Huh, that must be from the Faranor Citadel." MF then proceeded to bury her face again in Foel's hair. "Didn't expect that the clash would happen this soon."
"Is it something related to what you and Ki have investigated lately?"
"Yup! Basically, Dorian Citadel is being puppeteered by a third party, trying to stir and empower conflict between the first party that includes the surrounding Citadels, and the second party that is made up of an unknown amount of Evil Cult or Rogue Citadels.
"There has been a lot of propaganda and intel manipulation from many sides. Ki and I were basically preying on three chess grandmasters trying to outplay each other."
"And you want to outplay them all?" Foel chuckled.
"Fufufu, not yet, darling. The vines are too deep to be harshly uprooted. Though, I appreciate this notification, we might be able to utilize it for something else.
"Did you see their firepower?"
"Most of them were Hollow Orbs by the least, and Alcazar Establishment by the most." Foel smirked. "Though, some of their equipment and artifacts could match those of Nascent World Usurper."
After hearing those words, Damascus immediately presented herself and sat on the lying log at the edge with crossed arms.
"Want me to intercept to gather more information there?" Damascus grinned, showing a high enthusiasm as she would happily take the task by herself. "I believe that none of them could match with me, it would be better if we can acquire the perception of those folks from Faranor."
"Sure," MF nonchalantly replied. "You might take the disciples of the sect for some study tour. Teach them about tactics, spells, or anything for one or two. Beef them up so that they won't panic when they are participating in war."
"Oh yeah, teach them about interrogation too~ Though, make sure that you introduce yourself and the sect to both sides of the spectrum. That way, we might be able to show a little bit of our presence and influence that might be beneficial in the future~"